The Accrington Pals, officially the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington), East Lancashire Regiment, was a pals battalion of Kitchener's Army raised in and around the town of Accrington during the First World War.

History

Recruiting was initiated by the mayor of Accrington following Lord Kitchener's call for volunteers, and it took only ten days to raise a complete battalion. The battalion's nickname is somewhat misleading since of the four 250-strong companies that made up the original battalion, only one was actually composed of men from Accrington. The rest volunteered from other nearby East Lancashire towns such as Burnley, Blackburn, and Chorley. The men from Chorley, who formed Y Company, were known as the Chorley Pals.

The men from Burnley, who formed Z Company, were known as the Burnley Pals.

The Accrington Pals joined the 94th Brigade of the 31st Division, a "pals" division containing many North Country pals battalions. With the 31st Division. The division was initially deployed to Egypt in early 1916 to defend the Suez Canal from the threat of the Ottoman Empire The troopship carrying the Accrington Pals was narrowly missed by a torpedo, a fortunate miss because the ship also carried sixty tons of lyddite explosive.

The Accrington Pals next moved to France, where they first saw action in the Battle of the Somme. On the first day on the Somme, on 1 July 1916, the 31st Division was to attack the village of Serre-lès-Puisieux and form a defensive flank for the rest of the British advance. This was a local reserve battalion, that is, a reserve battalion for the locally raised (pals) battalion intended to provide trained reinforcements for its parent unit. In the autumn of 1915 it was at Prees Heath Camp in the 17th Reserve Brigade.

Victoria Cross

thumb|150px|Basil Arthur Horsfall VC

The Victoria Cross is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. One member of the battalion won the award. Second Lieutenant Basil Arthur Horsfall, 1st Battalion attached to the 11th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, won the award on 21 March 1918, between Moyenneville and Ablainzevelle, France. The award was posthumous.

Legacy

A song telling their story was written and recorded by English folk singer and comedian Mike Harding. A play based on the unit, The Accrington Pals, was also later written by Peter Whelan.

Memorial

A memorial to the battalion stands in the Sheffield Memorial Park in France. Built from Accrington brick and dedicated in 1991, the memorial stands close to the location of the trench line from which the Accrington Pals advanced on the first day of the Somme.

See also

  • List of pals battalions
  • Recruitment to the British Army during the First World War

References

Bibliography

  • Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.
  • Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 3b: New Army Divisions (30–41) and 63rd (R.N.) Division, London: HM Stationery Office, 1939/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-41-X.
  • J.B.M. Frederick, Lineage Book of British Land Forces 1660–1978, Vol I, Wakefield: Microform Academic, 1984, ISBN 1-85117-007-3.
  • Andrew Jackson, Accrington's Pals: The Full Story, Barnsley, Pen & Sword, 2013, ISBN 9781-84884-469-8.
  • Brig E.A. James, British Regiments 1914–18, London: Samson Books, 1978, ISBN 0-906304-03-2/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2001, ISBN 978-1-84342-197-9.
  • BAOR.pdf Richard A. Rinaldi, The Original British Army of the Rhine, 2006.
  • Chris Baker, The Long, Long Trail